‘Pecco’ gives himself a big opportunity for five in a row as Quartararo has to dig deep in qualifying
Francesco Bagnaia has given himself the best possible opportunity to take a fifth straight MotoGP™ win by qualifying on pole position in All Time Lap Record pace at the Gran Premio Animoca Brands de Aragon. Not only did Bagnaia take pole with a 1:46.069, just quicker than Jack Miller in a Ducati Lenovo Team one-two, he is set to start a full row ahead of his key World Championship rivals at MotorLand Aragon. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) came from Q1 to take fourth on the grid, pending a possible visit to stewards, while Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) could only manage sixth.
Bagnaia flies, A. Espargaro salvages fourth
Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) bolted out of the blocks with a 1:46.580 on his initial flying lap in Q2 and that would still be the benchmark when the first runs came to an end. As the Aragon circuit went quiet at the midway point of the session, Bagnaia was second on a 1:46.633 and Miller – one of two with a soft Michelin slick on the front as well as the rear (the other being Alex Rins) – third on a 1:46.784. Quartararo was only seventh on a 1:46.952 and Aleix Espargaro sat 11th with a 1:48.742, but having reused a rear tyre after taking the longer route through qualifying.
Once Espargaro got a new soft Michelin slick onto the back of his RS-GP, he was able to go second-quickest on a 1:46.590. That became third when Bagnaia set the 1:46.069 – 0.253 seconds up on his year-old lap record – before Bastianini clocked a 1:46.313 and then Miller a 1:46.159. Those laps decided the front row – a Ducati lockout – and Espargaro would be classified fourth, although he is under investigation for potentially baulking Fabio Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) back in Q1.
Quartararo digs deep, but still struggles
Aragon is not a kind circuit on the Yamahas, so qualifying close to – preferably in front of – the Ducatis was an imperative for Quartararo. It was clear that he was pushing hard to make up the deficit to Bagnaia and company when he was forced into a super save at Turn 2 on his penultimate lap, which ruined that flyer but gave ‘El Diablo’ a fighting chance. Quartararo was only 10th when the chequered flag came out and dug ever…